Question
I have a liquid ambar tree that is about 5 years old, 20ft tall, with a 5/6 inch dia. trunk. The tree is in the way of a new driveway. Can I dig it out and move it? How big of a root ball would I have to dig out?
Thank You

Answer
The rootball of a 5 inch diameter tree should be 45-60 inches wide and 30 inches deep. The formula is 9-12 inches wide for each inch of tree diameter and 6 inches deep per inch of diameter.

The weight of this ball for 5 inch diameter tree will be about 67 -90 lbs ( Weight of soil ball = width of ball x depth of ball x .05 lbs.)

This will be quite a job by hand digging. I would check locally for a tree spade company and see what that would cost to move the tree.
Here is a web link to the manufacture of a tree spade called Vermeer listing contacts in S. Calif. You might want to call one of them fro advice.
http://www.vermeer.com/vcom/DealerLocator/DealerListing.jsp?Mode=State&Val=CA